Forget The Horror Here
by Meckee
Summary: After losing Chloe, Max wakes up in the dark room alone, afraid, and without her time travel powers. Not being able to change time, how will she be able to escape and move on with her life? Kate will make sure that Max does not go down the same dark path that she herself traveled. Slight AU where there is no storm. Marshfield.
1. Anybody But Her

_Hmm, sunshine for everyone_ thought Kate as she looked out the window from her room and saw the beautiful weather. Today was Friday, October 11th, and this was the day Kate Marsh was leaving the hospital to return to Blackwell Academy after being saved from the rooftop by her friend Max Caulfield. If it hadn't been for her, Kate would be dead right now.

 _Ugh, I still feel so stupid for what I did, thank God I have a friend like Max._

Ever since yesterday when Max came to visit her, she had actually been very excited to return, especially after she received all of those nice cards and well wishes from her classmates. She felt so happy that she could help Max with her investigation against Nathan Prescott by giving her his room number.

 _I just hope Max was able to find something and stay safe, I'll have to thank Victoria again for that._

Kate was still surprised that Victoria had actually helped her out on this one. Victoria after all probably felt at least somewhat responsible for the whole rooftop incident, so it looked like she was trying to make amends, or at least be a little friendlier. This was another reason Kate was excited to return, if she and Victoria Chase could not be enemies, then the bullying would most likely stop, and she would feel normal again. Perhaps she would invite Victoria to her weekly tea sessions with Max.

 _On second thought no, those tea sessions are for me and Max only._

Kate got out of bed and headed for the hospital cafeteria for breakfast. Since she wasn't in the hospital for a physical ailment and today was the day she was being released she could just travel the hospital freely. Besides, the staff and other patients really adored Kate because she would talk with them and share her flowers that she got with them. She was such an enjoyable person to be around.

"Good morning Kate! Today's the big day huh?" greeted a nurse who was also in the cafeteria.

"Good morning to you too Nurse Taylor, and yes it is. I can't wait to get back to see all of my friends and my bunny again."

"Heh heh, I would imagine they all can't wait to see you back as well, especially now that you seem so happy." Taylor said

"Yeah, I was in a dark place for a while. I thought the world was against me and that I had nobody, but my friend Max showed me otherwise, if it hadn't been for her…" Kate trailed off and then quickly added.

"But that was a different me. I'm much better now, not just back to my old self, I feel stronger now."

Suddenly Taylor's pager went off, she looked at it for a brief second and then looked at Kate with a smile.

"That's great to here, depression can be a very tough obstacle to overcome, and I'm glad you've found your strength within yourself. I've got to run now to check on a patient, Goodbye Kate."

And with that she was off, so Kate got her breakfast (an omelet and 3 slices of bacon) and ate it in the cafeteria. Afterwards she quickly went around to visit the other patients and say goodbye to them as well before gathering what little she had brought with her to the hospital. Principal Wells was courteous enough provide a taxi for Kate to return to the Academy in so at around noon she left the hospital. Even though she was excited to return, she was still a tad bit nervous to see everyone. Kate hoped that everyone would treat her like a normal person when she got back, not like some broken person who would lose it if someone said the wrong thing. After an uneventful ride Kate found herself back on campus outside of the dormitories.

 _This is where I almost ended everything_. Kate shuddered at the thought.

 _Well, here I go_ she thought as she stepped up to the door to enter.

Just then the door flung open and startled her a bit. Out walked none other than Victoria Chase, was just as startled when she spotted Kate in front of her. The two stared at each other awkwardly for a moment before Victoria broke the silence.

"Uh… Hey Kate, I didn't know you would be back so soon." She said as she scratched the back of her neck, probably a nervous tick. Before Kate could respond Victoria spoke up again.

"Listen, I am sorry for what I did, I truly am, I… I know you probably hate me and you should but… Ugh I'm not good at this-"

"Victoria, it's okay, I know you've felt bad about that video and that card you sent me was very sweet. I forgive you." Kate said as she gave Victoria a warm smile.

"That's it? You just… forgive me like that?" Victoria asked with disbelief on her face.

"Yes I do, I believe that there is good within us all, and that people deserve a second chance for their mistakes. You are no different, even if you chose bully me." Kate explained

"Well, thank you Kate, it actually means a lot, I don't expect us to be friends, but I don't want to be your enemy. I don't want to be anyone's enemy. I'll see you around?"

Victoria then walked off to wherever she was heading. _Probably not class, seeing as the rest of this week's classes were canceled after what happened._ Kate entered the dorms and ran into Juliet and Dana who were very ecstatic that she was back. This made her feel a lot better now that her some of her classmates seemed to be embracing her back into Blackwell. Well, Victoria didn't exactly **embrace** her back but at least she wasn't her usual condescending self.

 _It's a start._

After ripping off the caution tape that was covering her door (she was still alive why did they act like her room was condemned?) Kate finally entered her door and unpacked. After looking over to the empty spot where Alice's cage was, Kate decided this would be the perfect opportunity to surprise Max with her return. After all Kate wanted her bunny back, and to see Max again. So she walked over to Max's room and knocked on the door.

 _Even though I just saw her yesterday I want to see her so badly again!_

Ten seconds had passed with no response so she knocked again. Just then her phone vibrated with a text from Warren.

 **Yo Kate I heard you were back! Hope those vortex club groupies aren't giving you any trouble already.**

 **No, they aren't thanx for asking, and I don't think they will ever again.**

When Max still hadn't answered the door Kate sent another text to Warren.

 **Hey, u wouldn't happen to know where Max is would you? I need to get my bunny back from her and thank her again for all she's done.**

After a brief moment Warren replied:

 **Idk, I haven't seen her since the end of the world party last night**

 _Party? Max went to one of their parties even after I told her what happened to me?_

 **What was she doing at that vortex club party? She hasn't ever been to one!**

Kate couldn't help but feel nervous, seeing as she was drugged by Nathan Prescott at the last party which eventually led to her trying to jump off of the roof of the Blackwell dorms.

 **She definitely wasn't there to party I'll tell you that, she was there with her blue-haired friend and they were both looking for Nathan.**

 _Why would Max go to a vortex club party and look for Nathan? Is she crazy?_

 **She looked worried, and she told me to stay away from Nathan at all costs**

After a few seconds passed Warren added:

 **Come to think of it nobody has seen Nathan since the party either, not that im complaining about that one.**

 _Oh no, Max and Nathan are nowhere to be found after the party?_ Kate almost couldn't believe what she was reading. It wouldn't be a big deal to anybody else, but not to Kate, she knows what Nathan is capable of. If Nathan had drugged someone else at a party, and if it was Max… Quickly, she pulled out her phone to call Max just to see if she was okay, all the while praying that she would pick up and everything was alright. When Max didn't answer Kate began to worry, she couldn't bear the thought of Nathan drugging Max or worse.

 _Not Max. Anybody but her._


	2. The Dark Room

The ground was cold and everything was a blur.

*Click*

Max didn't know where she was or what was going on but she was beginning to stir. *Click*

 _Okay time out Max, what is the last thing you remember? I was at the vortex club party looking for Nathan, nobody had seen him or knew where he was. Then there was that text, he knew we had found Rachel, he was going to move her body to hide the evidence. I was in the junkyard with Chloe, I felt a prick in my neck, and then Chloe was shot._

*Click*

"…Chloe…" Max tried to mumble as she began to stir.

*Click*

Her arms felt heavy and her legs felt weak, almost as if she was being held down by an immovable object. She tried to move again but got no response from her weary limbs, so instead she opened her eyes. Even a simple act such as that seemed to be a chore.

*Click*

Immediately she was greeted with a white light and a shadowy figure. As the room came into focus it looked eerily familiar. Max had been here before, but her mind was still in a stupor, she couldn't piece everything together. That's when she recognized the figure who stood before her with a camera.

*Click*

 _Oh my god, Jefferson! It was Jefferson the whole time! He drugged Kate and took pictures of her, just like me. I saw him kill Chloe, shot right through the head. She never had a chance, just like me. Oh no oh no oh no oh god no._ Tears began to flow down her face and her entire body began to shake. _He is going to kill me too. I am going to die._

*Click*

"Perfect, just perfect. The tears that are flowing right now capture exactly the moment I've wanted to show!" Jefferson whispered, seemingly to himself.

*Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click*

The severity of the situation that Max realized she was in gave her a boost of energy. Max began thrashing around as violently as she could to try to get up but made no progress. This only made her flail even more, she was in full on panic mode.

 _I can't move! I'm bound to the ground!_

*Click*

"Max you bitch you messed up my shot!" An angry voice suddenly yelled at her.

Max stopped moving at this outburst. She got a good look at Jefferson and his setup. There were two lights pointed right at Max, slightly hurting her eyes at the brightness. Jefferson stood behind the lights, directly in front of her, behind a tripod with a camera mounted to it. Her photography idol, the reason she went to Blackwell, had killed Chloe and drugged her just to take sick photos of her.

"It was you all along? The dark room is yours. Why? Why are you doing this? How could you?" Max said, her voice barely staying level through her fear.

Jefferson looked up from his camera and smiled at her. "Is that what you call this place?" He gestured around the room "I call it: The Studio. But that doesn't matter right now, why am I doing this? Now that is question every artist must ask himself. What inspires my work? How can I capture the pure essence of my art form?"

Now Jefferson began pacing around the room gesturing with his hands as he continued. "You see Max, I am interested in capturing the exact moment when innocence is lost, when the realization that the world is a dark and cruel place dawns upon my subjects, we are all vulnerable."

Max just couldn't believe what she was hearing, the fact that is was Jefferson all along still freaked her out, but now hearing his motivation for his actions had struck a chord in her. It reminded her about the lecture Jefferson gave in class on the day she got her time travel powers.

" _These pieces of time can frame us in our glory and our sorrow; from light to shadow; from color to chiaroscuro... I could frame any one of you in a dark corner, and capture you in a moment of desperation. And any one of you could do that to me."_

She started to shake uncontrollably with fear again. _I should have paid more attention in classes_ she thought as Jefferson quickly moved back behind his camera. _How could I have been so stupid? He practically told us all that day._

*Click*

"Another perfect image." Jefferson said. "You know, I've never had a subject regain consciousness enough to be coherent. I just get my photos and dump them off so they can return to their lives, forever changed. With you however, you already knew too much, saw too much, so I took a risk not giving you another dose just to see the kind of images I could get."

Jefferson removed his camera from the tripod and began to walk out of sight, but as he reached the doorway he stopped and looked back at Max one last time. "You are my greatest subject Max, the photographs that I have taken of you… I will cherish forever, no other session I will have may ever produce photos so pure."

Before Jefferson left the room, Max spotted her journal on the shelf to her left. _If I could just get to my journal, I can use a picture to go back and stop this from happening, stop Chloe from getting shot._

"Y-you took my journal" She said without thinking. This caused him to pause and walk over to it.

"Ah yes, your journal. A collection of your pathetic selfies. It's a shame Max, you have- had… so much talent, yet you constantly refused to put yourself out there and instead took these worthless photos." He said as he took out a selfie and frowned. "Hey, I actually recognize this one. You took it during my class on Monday while you should have been paying attention to the lecture. What a shame. Maybe if you **had** been paying attention you would have seen this coming."

Jefferson then tossed the photo to Max and left to print out the pictures on his camera. Max got lucky, it landed face up right in front of her so that she wouldn't have any issue focusing on the photo.

 _Perfect_ she thought. _Now all I have to do is go back to the lecture and I can stop all of this from happening._

So Max focused on the picture, just like she had with the picture of her and Chloe that William took on that fateful day. She focused and focused but nothing changed.

 _Uh, shouldn't something have happened now? Why am I not able to go back!? Okay Max calm down, deep breaths. I just need a clear head and then I'll be back in class in no time._

Once she was seemingly calm enough and had a clear mind she focused on the picture again. Minutes passed and nothing happened, Max just couldn't use her powers to go back in time anymore.

 _Shit shit shit what do I do know? I've got to think of something quick before he-_

Her thoughts were interrupted as Jefferson returned to the room again. Although this time he had gloves on and a syringe. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going to happen now.

"I'm afraid our session is over Max." Jefferson began.

"No no no no no!" Max began to frantically scream. "You can't do this!"

"Normally I wouldn't, but like I said, you know too much, you've seen too much."

Max's entire world was crashing down around her as she faced her impending doom. _Is this how Rachel felt in her last moments?_

"Is that what you and Nathan told Rachel?"

Surprisingly this gave Jefferson pause. "Rachel Amber, now that is the real tragedy. She was loved by everyone, the model student, the popular girl. I had no intentions to frame her in my image because she was already impure. So no, I never told Rachel that, she would've been fine if it were up to me, but Nathan had other ideas. That fuck up Nathan tried to imitate my style but killed her with an overdose and I was the one who had to cover it up to keep my little operation going." He smiled at Max "Don't you worry, Nathan is already taken care of, and you are the last loose end I need to tie up."

Just then, Max's phone vibrated from her pocket. "Oh? What do we have here?" Jefferson said as he took the phone from her pocket and looked at it. "It seems Kate is calling you right now. Hmm, maybe I'll pay her another visit." He stroked his goatee and appeared to be deep in thought. "You were the one who saved her from committing suicide. Showing her what I've done to her savior will just ruin her now wouldn't it? Those pictures could rival even yours, and even if I didn't kill her she would probably do it for me." His face lit up with the smuggest look imaginable "Yes, I'll pay her a visit after I've dealt with you."

"No please! You've already got her pictures, please don't, please…" With this Max began to sob, not only was she about to die at the hands of Jefferson, but she would die knowing she couldn't save Kate again or Chloe.

"Don't worry Max, you've already played your part in this." He said as he knelt down next to Max. "I promise you, this final dose won't hurt."

A commotion coming from the other room interrupted Jefferson just as he was about to give Max a fatal dose of the drug. He left her and ran right next to the entrance to the dark room as if he was planning an ambush.

 _This could be my chance_ she thought.

"Help! Help! He's going to kill me! He's around the corner on the left!" She shouted.

Just as she finished up alerting her (hopefully) rescuer to the danger ahead, David Madsen himself stepped through the doorway looking to the left and spotted Jefferson. As they began to fight, Max tried to free herself from the bonds she was currently in. When Max freed her left leg she looked up to notice Jefferson running past her towards his gun on the shelf. Reacting quickly, she reached out her leg towards him to try to slow him down. She succeeded, because Jefferson actually tripped over her leg and fell on the ground, allowing Madsen to get to him on the ground. In the struggle, Madsen knocked out Jefferson and handcuffed him.

"Oh my god Max, are you okay, did he hurt you?" Madsen asked as he rushed over to Max to help her out of the remaining three bonds. Max was still in shock by everything that had happened to her that she didn't even respond. When she was freed she immediately got up and hugged him (and received a somewhat awkward hug in return from him).

"Thank you thank you thank you. I thought I was going to die, he was about to kill me." She quickly said while she was crying somewhat. After their hug ended she took a few steps back.

"It's okay Max, it's all over now. I'm sorry, I should have seen this coming." David replied "I spent so much of my time chasing the wrong people, suspecting everybody who were actually victims in this, like you and Kate."

Max didn't respond, instead she was just looking straight ahead with a blank stare. _Chloe is dead and I can't go back to change it, not this time. Why the fuck did I get these powers just to lose them right at the end when I need it the most?_

"Max, do you need any help?" David asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"He killed her." Was all Max said in voice of disbelief.

"Killed? Who did he kill?"

"Chloe"

Silence fell upon the two of them for about ten seconds. Max's expression filled with horror, and David's with barely contained seething rage. David calmly walked over to Jefferson in stark contrast of his facial expression.

"You killed my stepdaughter you son of a Bitch!" He yelled as he began to kick Jefferson who was still unconscious on the ground. "You ruined my family! I told Joyce I would protect them both!"

As David was beating Jefferson, Max had retrieved the gun that was still on the shelf and picked it up. She then aimed the gun right at Jefferson's head with shaky hands and only one thought on her mind. _Now who is the vulnerable one you monster? If I could just stop shaking long enough to..._

"Max don't! It's over now, he can't hurt anyone anymore. Trust me, you don't want to shoot this sorry ass excuse of a man." David yelled at her.

"He needs to die. Just like Chloe, shot through the head." She said

"Please, give me the gun, I'll make sure he rots away in jail forever for this. Don't do this."

David's pleas were enough to snap Max out of her murderous thoughts. "R-right, you're right. Jail forever." She stated as David took her gun away.

"Come on Max, I think you should wait outside I'll call the cops and they can sort out this mess with you and "His voice broke and he took a breath to compose himself "with you and Chloe".

"Okay, let me get my stuff and I'll go." Max replied.

She collected her bag and her journal, as well as the selfie that she took in Jefferson's class. _This picture holds the key to everything, I need to find a way to get my powers back._ She looked up and saw the cabinet with all of the binders of pictures Jefferson had took. Without thinking, and making sure David was occupied with Jefferson and calling the police to the scene, she picked up three binders and put them into her bag _I'll make sure nobody ever sees these, not even the police for evidence_. They were labeled Rachel, Kate, and Max.


	3. Ghost In The Back Of Her Head

_It's been three days since the dark room and nothing is better. Everything is just wrong. So, so wrong. The cops and detectives say it's all over and that Jefferson will go away for a long time, but I don't think it will ever end for me. All of my time has been put towards focusing on my photographs looking for something, anything to help me regain my powers, even the… even the pictures from the dark room. It's hard to focus when my vision is always blurry from crying, but it doesn't work anyway, it never works anymore and I can't take this, it's hopeless. I close my eyes and I see Chloe fall to the ground dead, I look outside and I'm reminded of all the great times we had this week before it all fell apart. Whenever I fall asleep I have terrible nightmares, so I don't sleep anymore. What's wrong with me? Am I crazy?_

The last time Max fell asleep, she had a horrible nightmare that seemed to never end. First she was back in class on that fateful day where she got her powers, but instead of the lecture proceeding as it had many times before, hundreds of birds pelted the window to the classroom, covering it with blood. Then she was avoiding people (Jefferson, Principle Wells, Victoria, Warren) with flashlights who were trying to hunt her down around the Blackwell locker room, art gallery, and junkyard, all while they made sick remarks toward her. The nightmare ended in the dark room, with Jefferson posing her, taking pictures, and then finally killing her.

When she awoke her nose was bleeding and she was sitting at her desk with her journal open. She was horrified at what she wrote in her journal during her sleep. She had somehow gotten the binders that Jefferson had on Kate, Rachel, and herself, then took some of the pictures out and taped them into the journal. Scribbled many times (mostly over the previous message) was "Max in the dark room." Or "Kate/Rachel in the dark room.", "Go fuck your selfie", and "Death Only Death Only Death Only Chloe". To top it all off, there was a picture of a polaroid camera with blood squirting out of it, Max's blood from her nosebleed.

Because her nose was bleeding Max had assumed that she was in some sort of trance that was induced from her time travel powers. _Maybe this is a message_ she had thought when she saw the journal. _It better be, because if not then I am a fucked up person_. This resulted in Max trying to focus on these pictures for the better part of a day and a half.

 _I can't do this right now._ Max thought as she got out of her bed, putting her journal on her desk without closing it. She began pacing around the room, thinking about why she lost her powers for what must have been the millionth time.

"You've really done it now huh?" An eerily familiar voice called out, scaring Max and stopping her movement.

 _Was… that sounded like… me? No, I must be imagining things. I'm pretty tired so that's why. Yeah, I'm exhausted so I'm just hearing things._

"Helooooo? Earth to Max? Over here!" The same voice said.

Max moved towards the sound of the voice. It wasn't a coming from a person in the room. Actually, it sounded like it was coming from the mirror. When she looked in the mirror, Max was not greeted by her reflection. Instead, she saw a person angrily glaring at her that looked just like herself, sort of like a clone.

"Who… Who are you?" Max asked the clone in the mirror.

"Holy shit are you cereal? I'm you dumbass, or one of the many Max's you left behind while messing around with time."

 _Maybe she can help me! Or, maybe I can help myself?_

"You're me? Please, you've got to help me! I can't rewind time anymore! Chloe is dead! Jefferson killed her and then took me to the dark room, it was him all along." Max frantically said, feeling hopeful for the first time in days. Maybe this Max had come to help her.

As fast as her hope had been restored, it was torn down viscously when the clone began to laugh at her, as if she was being made fun of.

"You think you can control everything and everyone, huh? Well guess what **Maxine** , I don't want to help you, I'm not going to help you, and you will **never** get your powers back."

Max's heart dropped when she heard this. The hopelessness setting in again, stronger than ever this time. Tears began to flow from her eyes, something Max was all too familiar with recently.

"Why? I just need one more chance and I can fix all of this. I can save Chloe, stop Jefferson, and maybe even save Nathan!" Max responded.

"Oh my god you are so stupid! You just don't get it do you? What gives you the right to manipulate everybody, twist time around your fingers and play god?" The other Max took a step forward, almost as if she was about to come into the room through the mirror.

"You didn't want to help, you only wanted to be popular. You get your powers and suddenly the shy, quirky, nerd Max wants to talk to everybody, go to vortex club parties, break into the school at night and steal money!."

"Shut up! I only wanted to help! Everything I've done has been to help everybody else, not myself!" Max screamed into the mirror.

"That's a lie and you know it, but keep telling yourself that. That's one lie that will never become the truth. You only told people what they wanted to hear, getting them to act like you wanted them to act, like a sick puppet master. You disgust me, and I'm ashamed that we are the same person."

"Stop it! Iwas the only one that cared, the only one that gave a rat's ass about the terrible things that were going on around here!" Max persisted.

"Another lie, you just wanted to be a hero, but instead you're the villain. Nothing you did in the past week helped, Chloe is dead, Kate tried to kill herself, Nathan is dead, and you ended up in the dark room with Jefferson. You got lucky that Madsen was able to-"

"I saved Kate." Max interrupted with a whisper. Suddenly Max wasn't looking in the mirror at a version of herself anymore, she was looking at Kate.

"Why did you stop me from jumping Max? You never understood me, or what happened to me." Kate said, a hint of sorrow in her voice.

"I care about you Kate, you're my friend. And I know what you went through."

"Stop lying Max!" Kate screamed. "If you really were my friend I wouldn't have been on the roof in the first place! I went to you for help and you told me to do nothing. You should have let me jump, now my family will never leave me alone, which means I'll always be alone."

"No… I told you was gathering evidence I was going to help, I was…" Max pleaded. "You aren't the real Kate Marsh, I saved her and she is going to be all right, she will never be alone."

"Just like how you saved me?" The woman in the mirror spoke, only this time it wasn't Kate or clone Max, it was Chloe.

"C-Chloe?" Max chocked out, she was openly sobbing now and it was difficult for her to speak at this point. "I'm so sorry Chloe, I'm so sorry. I tried to help but without my powers I can't do anything. I'm sorry, sorry, sorry." Max cried while wiping her eyes.

"Of course you're sorry, but I don't want your pity. I just wanted my best friend, but you left me for five years without contacting me once. Five FUCKING years Max. I was all alone because of you." Chloe ranted. "You only came back in my life when Nathan was about to shoot me, but you didn't save me because you cared. You only saved me because you felt guilty Max! Guilty that you left me alone when I needed you the most, guilty because you are such a shitty person. I hate you Max, I thought you were my friend, but in the end you only really cared about yourself."

"That's not true!" Max pleaded, she didn't even know if she was trying to convince Chloe or herself at this point.

"You're pathetic, you got exactly what you deserved and now you're the one who's alone now. How does it feel?"

"Stop it! You're not Chloe and this isn't real!"

Chloe was replaced in the mirror by clone Max again.

"Of course this is real dumbass. You can't just manipulate time to satisfy your selfish needs and get away with it."

"Stop it!" Max yelled.

"How was the dark room? I bet you loved it, finally got to spend some quality time with your idol."

"Stop it!" Max persisted.

"You got exactly what you wanted Max, a lesson in photography by the wonderful Mark Jefferson. At least one good thing happened to you because of your powers."

"I said STOP!" Max screamed at the top of her lungs as she punched the mirror with all of her strength, shattering it.

Max stepped back from the wall with a bloodied hand. "Fuck all of this" Max cried as she set her eyes on the Max Caulfield Memorial wall. "Fuck these pictures" she said as she began to tear down the wall. Some pictures were ripped off the wall with enough force to rip them in half. Once the wall was tore down she set her eyes on her camera. "Fuck this camera", she took her camera and smashed it on the floor. "Fuck Blackwell, fuck this room", she started ripping the sheets off of her bed. In the commotion she got tangled up in the mess and fell to the floor. She was crying hysterically at this point, so much so that she didn't even notice that her door had shot open and someone entered the room. Before she knew it someone had her arms around her in a tight hug.


	4. I'm Not Okay

**A few minutes earlier…**

Kate Marsh was worried, like really worried for Max. It had all started when Max hadn't been heard from or seen since the end of the world party, but that worry is nothing compared to the worry she has right now. When Max had returned with David about three days ago she had looked like ghost. Extremely pale, almost no emotion in her face, but her eyes told a different tale. A tale of immense sadness, despair, and fear. It had broken Kate's heart to see Max in that state. She didn't even get to talk to Max because then the questions came, from the police no less. She was confused as to why they would want to speak to her. It turns out Jefferson was the one who drugged her at the vortex club party last week, he was the one responsible for the turn of events that almost caused Kate to take her own life. She really couldn't help the investigation out (if one could call it an investigation, Jefferson was basically going to be put in jail for a long long time anyway) because she didn't remember anything specific except the cold floor, and the white room. They had questioned her about Max too, but they were very vague, not giving her much information as to what may have happened involving Max.

Surprisingly it was David who revealed to Kate what had happened involving Max. The darkroom, Chloe's death, and finding Rachel Amber's body. It was almost too much information for her to absorb, the horrors Max must've been put through didn't compare to what happened to Kate. After talking with David, she made a beeline for Max's room to talk, comfort, or just to be there for her after this ordeal. When she finally got to talk to her (almost a day after Max had come back no less) Kate was absolutely shocked with what she saw. Gone was the strong, caring, lovable friend that Max had been the past week. Standing in her place was a broken, scared, and sad human being. Even more distressing to Kate, Max seemed to just brush her off, preferring to be alone in her room instead. Kate made sure that Max knew she was going to be there for her. "Anything you need, whenever you need me." Kate had said before leaving Max alone in her room.

 _If I know anything about how Max is feeling, then she needs people who care about her to be with her, no matter how much she may want to isolate herself. She will not face this alone, I'll watch out for her. She saved my life and I will make sure that she doesn't travel down the same path I did._

Kate had been periodically been checking up on Max for the past two days, just to make sure she was, y'know, still alive. _No Kate, don't think like that, Max is strong, she will get through this._ She shuddered at the thought. She said a quick prayer for Max, praying that she would have the strength to get better, and asking for the strength to help pull Max through this herself. After the prayer, she walked over to her bunny to feed her dinner.

"Oh Alice," she sighed "This week is just… tragic. Why did this have to happen? What kind of world does thi-"

"I said STOP!" *CRASH*

Kate jumped at this sudden interruption, as well as her bunny.

 _What the… that sounded like Max. Something terrible is happening, I've got to get to her now!_

She bolted for the door and ran down the hallway to Max's room (luckily nobody else was currently in the dorm because then everybody would be wondering what the commotion was). . "Fuck these pictures" she heard as she entered the hallway. As she reached the door Max cried out: "Fuck this camera", followed by another loud crash. Kate desperately was trying to get into her room, but the door was locked.

 _My god, she's having a meltdown, come on door! OPEN!_ She furiously thought before hearing another scream: "Fuck Blackwell, fuck this room".

*Snap*

The lock was finally broken and the door flew open, letting Kate rush into the room. She was greeted with a sickening sight, Max's room looked like a storm had just hit, and hit hard, and Max was lying face down on the ground crying in agony. Without missing a beat, Kate was already at Max's side, wrapping her in fierce hug. The first thing she noticed was the cold, Max was so cold. Next, she felt the shaking, it was a violent shaking that only a person experiencing true despair would exhibit.

"Shhh, it's okay Max, your safe." Kate said, trying to calm her down, but it only seemed to make things worse as she began to wriggle herself out of the hug.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Max cried "Stop torturing me! Just leave me alone!"

"Max it's me Kate, I'm not here to torment you. I just want to help you. Please calm down."

This had the first positive affect, as the wriggling ceased from Max, though the crying didn't die down in intensity.

"K-K-Kate? Is that really you" Max sobbed, she almost was crying too much to even get that question out.

 _Why doesn't she believe that it's really me?_

"It really is" she replied while stroking Max's hair in a further effort to get her to calm down, this time it worked.

"Oh Kate." Was all Max could manage to say as she finally wrapped her arms around Kate to complete the hug. She buried her face into Kate's shoulder and continued to weep.

"I'm so- I just- you- I tried…" Max tried to tell Kate something but couldn't seem to be able to form coherent sentences right now.

"It's okay Max, take all the time you need." Kate said.

Max continued to weep in Kate's arms for a few more minutes and even Kate was shedding a few tears herself. To see Max like this hurt her a lot, maybe a little too much. _I wish I could more. I wish I could just hold on to her and drive the demons away. I wish we could have a nice little tea session like we used to before everything went bad. I wish we could laugh and talk without a care in the world, other than schoolwork of course. I'd like to hold her hand and tell her how much I care about her. I'd like to spend every second I have with her and- Woah I need to calm down right now! Max is having a breakdown right now and this is what I'm thinking about?_

Max's sobs finally died down at this point and that's when she noticed that there were drops of blood on the shattered mirror.

"Max your hand!" Kate gasped, "It's bleeding pretty badly. Come with me, I've got some bandages in my room" and before Max could object, she was practically dragging Max out of the room by holding on to her unhurt hand.

When they arrived in the room Kate had seated Max on her bed and began to work on her hurt hand, luckily she always kept a first aid kit around, just in case. Throughout this, Max just stared straight ahead at the wall with an expressionless face. In fact, she wasn't moving at all. Kate actually had to hold up Max's hand while wrapping the bandage around. Just as she finished, Max spoke up, breaking the silence

"Do you hate me?" she said while looking right at Kate with saddest eyes imaginable.

 _Um, wow. This came out of nowhere. How could she possibly think I would hate her?_

"Of course I don't hate you. You're my friend and nothing you could ever do would make me hate you" Kate replied in a soothing voice while give Max her most reassuring smile.

At this Max's head drooped down so she was no longer looking at Kate and she sniffled a couple of times.

"Are you mad at me for what I did? For-" her voice cracked and when she resumed she spoke as quiet as she could without it being a whisper "For talking you off of the roof?"

It took a few moments for the question to register in Kate's mind, she was astonished that Max would even think that she would hate her for saving her life. So put her hand under Max's chin and carefully lifted her head so that they had eye contact.

"Max, listen to me: I am eternally grateful that you were there for me when I needed someone who cared about me the most. You saved my life that day, and I am very happy that you did. I am not angry, nor have I regretted walking off of the roof with you… How could I be mad at you?"

Max sniffled a bit and wiped her eyes.

"It's just- everything I've done this week, I only wanted to help. I just wanted to help… Instead, you tried to kill yourself, I got Chloe killed-"her voice broke at the mention of Chloe, "and Jefferson… Oh god Kate! He dosed me with a drug and I watched him shoot her right in the head. I was so useless!" Kate didn't want Max to have another meltdown, but she knew Max needed to talk about what happened, so she just held Max's hand. "When I woke up, I was bound to the floor and he was taking pictures of me! He- he said was gonna kill me…"

Fresh tears began to fall from Max's face as she continued.

"And then he said he would come after you again. Jefferson wanted to show you what he did to me. He said it would ruin you… just before he killed you too!" Max broke down crying again, just like when Kate found her in her room, so Kate did the only thing she could think of- hug her.

 _She's suffered so much. Poor Max, this is breaking my heart, I hate seeing her like this. Seeing your best friend die right in front of you, then Jefferson... Her suffering ends now, I'll make sure of that._

"Shhh, you're okay, I'm okay, and we're safe now. Jefferson won't hurt us ever again." Kate tried to calm Max down.

"I could've stopped it Kate! I should have seen it coming but I was too stupid! I can still stop it. I just need-" Max stopped talking mid-sentence, she had said too much and she knew it.

 _She thinks she can still stop it? She's just talking nonsense now…She must be delusional, it just keeps getting worse doesn't it? God, please be with Max right now._

"There was nothing you could do, he fooled us all." Kate said "What's done is done, no matter how much we may want to change the past, we can't."

After a few moments, Max calmed down and then wiggled out of Kate's hug.

"You don't know that." She said while staring at the floor, avoiding Kate's gaze.

 _Max is so confused right now. I've got to help her, she's my friend and I can't sit around and watch this from the sidelines any more. She clearly can't be left alone right now…_

"Max, I think you should stay here tonight. I just- I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone tonight, and your room is kinda trashed right now." Kate examined Max more closely and added, "Plus it looks like you haven't slept in days either."

"I don't know… I don't want to burden you with my problems. I can deal with this myself." Max answered.

"You are not alone in this Max, I'm here for you. So stay please? For me?" Kate was practically begging at this point, and it worked.

"Well, if it will make you feel better… I guess I'll stay here. For you." Kate swore that for the briefest of moments Max **almost** smiled. _Maybe I am making progress after all._

"I just need to go back to my room and get my pillow then, I can't sleep without it."

"I don't think it would be a good idea to go back into your room, let me go get it." Kate offered. When Max nodded Kate got up immediately and headed over to the doorway, "Promise me you won't be gone when I get back."

"I promise I'll still be here"

Satisfied with that answer, Kate left for Max's room. When she got there she took a few moments to more thoroughly assess the damage that had been done to the room. The first thing she noticed was the famous "Max Caulfield Memorial Wall" was ripped to shreds, nearly all of the pictures were destroyed. More disturbing was the message written on her wall "NOBODY MESSES WITH ME BITCH" in red paint. _She must have been dealing with a lot while looking for evidence. I wish I'd known she was in this much danger._ Next she saw the shattered camera on the floor. _I can't believe Jefferson drugged her and took pictures of us both, but Max had it worse, she was awake and actually remembers some of the experience. I guess she'll never look at photographs the same way ever again. Poor Max._ She laid her eyes on the shattered mirror. _Why did she break her mirror? When I was going through my… my phase, I covered up my mirror because I couldn't stand the sight of myself._ _Wait, she yelled out "Stop it" right before I heard the mirror shatter, and then when I was hugging her, it was like she didn't know it was me. She thought I was tormenting her._

The last thing Kate noticed was Max's open journal on the desk. She wasn't the nosy type, but she wanted to help out Max as much as she could and perhaps gaining a bit of insight into what Max was thinking would help her out. _Just a quick glance._ Kate regretted her decision immediately, because what she saw was a thing of nightmares.

Pictures of herself bound, fear in her eyes with tear streaks on her face. _What the? How?_ Pictures of Rachel Amber bound, and pictures of Max taken by Jefferson as well. _"Max in the dark room… Max in the dark room…"_ Kate covered her mouth with hands in shock as she began to cry for Max.

 _My poor angel. Jefferson ruined you didn't he?_


End file.
